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The lonely good company of books summary
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Just because a person reads a lot of books doesn 't technically make that person a good reader. Richard Rodriguez clearly emphasizes this in his article The Lonely, Good Company of Books published in 1982 from The Hunger Of Memory: The Education Of Richard Rodriguez. As a child Richard did not like reading he saw "reading at best, as only a chore".(Rodriguez pg.227) Not truly understanding the pleasures and education he could gain from reading books.
When Richard first got into school he realized reading was one of the main activities in school, so he knew he would be doing a lot of reading throughout school. This was a problem for him, because he had a fear of reading and it didn’t help that as child Richard 's parents only read books to gain knowledge about something such as manuals and newspapers he never saw them "read for pleasure". (Rodriguez pg.227) As school went on he was placed in a remedial class with a nun as the teacher. She helped him to get over his fear of reading alone and this gave him the will to read more and more books.
As time
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High school is where I had gained an awareness about how what I 'm learning in school is going to benefit me in the real world. I learned an retain a variety of information because the things that I did learn I felt like you would need to know to survive in the real world. A perfect example of this is driver 's ed where I learned to drive something that I do everyday frequently. Another reason why I learned and retain so much I because when I got into high school is around the same time I got my first job. This definitely opened the door in showing me how what I 'm learning in school applies to everyday work activities such as knowing and counting money this is where math comes in. Being able to talk and communicate writing and verbally this is where English comes in. All things that I needed to do in everyday
Andrew Solomon has some valid arguments in his article, and he tries to persuade the readers through logos, pathos, and ethos. Solomon wants the readers to understand the importance of reading, and how its decline can be harmful to the nation. To reinforce his arguments, Solomon shares a variety of examples, for instance, he mentions that reading helps improve memory and concentration, and the decline of reading is causing mental “atrophy.” He also calls upon the readers to take some sort of action to raise reading rates and help the society. This can grant the readers a form of power and control over the crisis that will lead to an em...
My teachers took note of my reading obsession in middle school, and were quick to encourage it. They readily agreed to remove the typical limit of three books allowed to be checked out at a time for me when I asked. The librarian would just smile at me as I handed her the next five books I planned on reading, knowing I would be back in five days or less. This was the same for Malcolm X when he showed a particularly intense interest in books. He said that those who were known to read a lot could also check out more books than what was normally
To fully comprehend a work you cannot just read it. You must read it, analyze it, question it, and even then question what you are questioning. In Richard Rodriguez’s The Achievement of Desire we are presented with a young Richard Rodriguez and follow him from the start of his education until he is an adult finally having reached his goals. In reference to the way he reads for the majority of his education, it can be said he reads going with the grain, while he reads a large volume of books, the quality of his reading is lacking.
Reading is on the decline and our reading skills are declining right along with the amount of reading we do. This is happening right across the board through both genders, all age groups and education levels, people are busy and they just do not have time to read books that they are not required to read for school or work. There are serious consequences to this neglect of reading that will continue to worsen if ignored. We need to take notice of what is happening to our culture and stop this situation from continuing, we must act to correct these issues that we are faced with. These things are discussed in the essay “Staying Awake’’ by Ursula K. Le Guin who uses the NEA essays “To Read or Not to Read’’ and “Reading at Risk’’ to support her argument that there is a decline in the amount of time that we are spending on reading and our ability to understand what it is that we are reading.
After reading an essay, ‘On Writing’ by Stephen King, I was highly interested in King’s opinion about the necessity of reading and writing frequently in order to become a good writer. In King’s essay he talks about how he does not read to study and that he simply reads just to read; however, King does point out that though he is not reading to study there is still a learning process happening with everything he reads. “Every book you pick up has its own lesson or lessons, and quite often the bad books have more to teach than the good ones.” (King) Why does King have this opinion about books?
In “The Lonely, Good Company of Books,” by Richard Rodriguez, you learn that Rodriguez had read hundreds of books before he was a teenager, but never truly understood what he was reading. His parents never encouraged him to read and thought the only time you needed to read, was for work. Since his parents never encouraged Rodriguez to read it effected how he perceived books.
Richard is thirsty for new knowledge, wanting to expand his brain. Growing up as black during the 1920s gives Richard limited opportunities to get a strong, secure education, so he is always looking for new ways to obtain knowledge. Richard’s local library prohibited blacks to check out books, so Richard asked a white coworker to borrow his library card. Richard forges a note saying that Richard is just picking up books for his coworker to read. He would become entranced with the books he read, but thought no other black person read like him, this made him stop reading for awhile. After a couple of days past with him not reading, “A vague hunger would come over me for books.” (Wright 357) Richard is always hungry for books, like an addiction, if he stops reading for a couple of days he will just end up wanting to read more. Richard is hungry for a new life as well. Richard read a paper that described a modern world. He yearned to live in that world that was almost alien to him, “I hungered for a different life.” (Wright 187) Richard is dissatisfied with his own life he longs for one he just read on a paper. He states that the modern world is, “merely stories” but his desire to get away from his current life convinces him that they are real. Richards hunger for knowledge and a new life is as powerful, if not more powerful than a craving
Preparing for college starts well before senior year in high school. The primary purpose of a high school is to get students to go to college. The purpose of going to college is to gain work-related skills and knowledge on the career path a student takes which will eventually be their future. Also, students are investing a lot of money to attend colleges, so they count on high school to prepare them for what they are going to expect in college.
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” by Dr. Seuss. Everyone at some point in their lives will read or be read to. For me it’s a great way to escape, to clear my head, and be at two places at once. For me, reading has had its ups and downs, but, through the years I’ve had obstacles which have molded me into the person I am today.
High school trained me by actually taking responsibilities on my actions but also on my work. I concentrate way harder than I used to back in middle school since the grades are going to follow me through college. I have made myself want to finish my work because it will be way harder in the long run if I didn’t. I have learned how to better interact with other people. This sounds abnormal but it’s true. I used to hang out with only a small group of friends in middle school because I didn’t want to get to know other people.
“ I’m slow reader, but I usually get through seventy or eighty books a year, mostly fiction”. (king-221). I’m slow reader too, and often I got bored with reading because I will read a difficult word and my reading can not help me because I’m slow reader. Stephen King, Reading to Write. In this essay, King impact me to read at least fifty books a year even though I’m slow reader, and I read with what I’m interesting with it. It is difficult to read books you are not like it because you will be bored with it and just want finish even if you do not comprehend. King wrote this essay to show us how reading is important to write, and he connected his essay with a personal experience. I totally agree with King when he says read, read and read because reading help me to write, to think, and improvise my speaking.
My High School life has helped shape the way for my college experiences that I will face. My senior year in high school is not the same as many other high school students. I am taking many advanced classes to help me prepare for college. These classes help me better understand exactly how much harder I must work to succeed.
Ever since I was a child, I've never liked reading. Every time I was told to read, I would just sleep or do something else instead. In "A Love Affair with Books" by Bernadete Piassa tells a story about her passion for reading books. Piassa demonstrates how reading books has influenced her life. Reading her story has given me a different perspective on books. It has showed me that not only are they words written on paper, they are also feelings and expressions.
Time flies so fast. Looking back, my high school is just like a movie, a lot of things happened. High School is four years of growing up and probably a time in your life where you go through the most changes. In high school you are able to discover yourself and find out who you are as a person. Each year is special and unique in their own way. My journey through high school was a tough one, especially because I decided to not only focus on academic work but also to invest quality time in extra curriculum activities. I wanted more than just academic excellence; I wanted to be a leader, I wanted to add value to every aspect of my life, I wanted a rounded education and not just mere schooling. My success story is what I will like to share with you; how I really made it and how this defines my personality. My journey in High School was scary, exciting, and successful.
Maybe, my sister and I inherited this live of reading from my father, or perhaps, our environment influenced us, but we were hooked onto books from a very early age. We would even take them to social gatherings, where we sure that we would get bored, and then just disappear into a quiet corner and spend the evening reading.